Psychological/Psychiatric Examiner Services Program

Program Overview

The Psychological/Psychiatric Examiner Services Program strives to provide courts with access to highly skilled and competent examiners for civil commitment and Rule 20 evaluations. The program maintains a roster of examiners who are licensed physicians or psychologists and willing to accept these types of cases and comply with Judicial Branch policies.

Civil commitment is a legal process that allows the state to order a proposed patient into treatment even if the person objects. Because the process drastically impacts a person’s rights, it is only used in narrowly defined circumstances. Minnesota’s procedures for civil commitment are contained in chapter 253B of Minnesota’s Statutes. As part of the commitment process, an examiner must be appointed by the court. The proposed patient may also request a second examiner. The examiner submits a report to the court that offers an opinion whether civil commitment of the proposed patient is appropriate.

Pursuant to Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure (20.01 and 20.02), Rule 20 evaluations occur in criminal cases when there is a belief that a defendant may not be competent to proceed with the case or was not responsible at the time of the alleged offense because of mental illness or developmental disability.

Interested in Becoming a Psychological Services Examiner?

Statuatory qualifications: Knowledgeable, trained, and practicing in the diagnosis, and assessment, or treatment of mental impairment, and who is; (1) a licensed physician; (2) a licensed psychologist who has a doctoral degree in psychology or who became a licensed consulting psychologist before July 2, 1975.

If you meet the qualifications and are interested in becoming a Psych Services Examiner, please complete the form using the following link and return the completed form to the mailing address listed below.

The Orientation Program for Court Appointed Forensic Examiners is an online tutorial available to anyone interested in learning more about the program. Continuing education units (CEUs) are available, but only to those examiners who are interested in joining the statewide roster and have met all other roster requirements.

Information for Active Psychological Services Examiners

To access the Psychological Services Online Invoicing Application, please click here or use the site menu located in the upper right of this page.